James Maddison trained with the England squad on Saturday afternoon to give Gareth Southgate hope that the Leicester midfielder’s World Cup is set for take-off.
Maddison is yet to feature for the Three Lions in Qatar after aggravating a knee injury in the Foxes’ clash with West Ham before the tournament. He has been training on his own and undergoing treatment - but is now in the frame to play a part in the final group game against Wales on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old forced his way into England’s 26-man squad with some impressive performances for his club. But he has been a spectator as England followed a thumping 6-2 victory over Iran with a disappointing goalless draw against the United States.
England need a point against the Welsh to guarantee their qualification to the last 16. Victory would take them through as group winners.
Maddison will not start the Battle of Britain but could get his first minutes at the World Cup as a substitute.
He gives the Three Lions another effective attacking option.
The 11 players who started against the Americans were all allowed to rest to recover from a gruelling contest when England trained at the base at the Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium.
Substitute Jordan Henderson also didn’t train although Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford did have a work-out despite getting game-time against the USA.
